EVALUATION OF FINE NEEDLE ASPIRATION CYTOLOGY (FNAC) IN HEAD AND NECK SWELLINGS, PRESENTED IN AKHTAR SAEED MEDICAL AND DENTAL COLLEGE, LAHORE

Objective: To determine the frequency of various Head and Neck swellings at various sites reported at Pathology department Akhter Saeed Medical and Dental College, Lahore. Materials and Methods: The present study evaluates data of all the patients that underwent FNAC for various head and neck swellings from the period of 2012 to 2019 in Akhtar Saeed Medical College, Lahore. A total of 177 patients with swellings in the head and neck regions, on which FNAC was performed are included in this study. After cleaning the area properly, a 23 gauge needle with syringe and needle tip was inserted at convenient angles to the lesions and with the help of multiple hits, an adequate amount of material was aspirated. The needle was then removed with sufficient negative pressure. In order to avoid bleeding or hematoma formation, a cotton gauze was kept pressed over the aspirated area for a few minutes. Results: Out of 177 fine needle aspiration procedures, the maximum number of aspirates were procured from thyroid (35%), 22% from cervical lymph nodes, 16% from salivary glands, 24% from miscellaneous swellings in head and neck region. The highest number of cases were diagnosed as reactive/non-specific inflammatory lesions (19%) followed by benign lesions with hyperplastic colloid nodule (14%). Conclusion: The study mainly confirmed the results of various studies previously carried out in different countries. FNA of head and neck lumps proves to be an efficient and useful diagnostic method in segregating inflammatory and neoplastic lesions, thus avoiding unnecessary invasive procedures. The diagnostic accuracy of FNAC makes it a reliable first-line tool in predicting the nature of various head and neck swellings.